Supporting means for ladders and scaffolds



June 8, 1954 DAK|N SUPPORTING MEANS FOR LADDERS AND SCAFFOLDS Filed Oct. 15, 1949 J '(P J Z'mventor AFO/V/II D attorneg Patented June 8, 1954 SUPPORTING MEANS FOR LADDERS AND SCAFFOLDS Leonard F. Dakin, Pleasantville, N. Y.

Application October 15, 1949, Serial No. 121,482

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to supporting means for ladders and scaffolds.

The invention provides a novel ofi'set bracket for ladders which will support the ladder in spaced relationship to a roof or wall of a building structure, or will provide a support for ladder planks to form a scaffold, or will perform both of these functions simultaneously.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of two oifset brackets embodying the invention, one of which supports the upper end of the ladder in spaced relationship with a wall, and the other of which is in position to support ladder planks;

Fig.2 is a sectional view of the upper bracket shown in Fig. 1, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the ladder taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another form of ladder rail engaging member. I

The same reference characters designate the same parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing, the bracket comprises essentially a swivel bearing plate l0, ladder rail engaging and supporting members ll, l2, l3 and I4, arms and I6 connecting the bearing plate and the members II and I 2 respectively, longer arms I? and I8 extending between the bearing plate and the members [3 and I4 respectively, and extensible and contractable arms I9 and between the arms 15 and I6 and arms I1 and I8 respectively.

The swivel bearing plate I0 is U-shaped in cross-section. and has two ears 2! and 22 struck therefrom and bent at right angles to the face of the plate between the legs of the U. The outer ends of the arms l5 and I! are pivoted to opposite sides of the ear 2|, while the arms I6 and I8 are similarly pivoted to the ear 22 by bolts and lock nuts 23 and 24 which are set so that the arms will move freely about the pivot points.

The ladder rail engaging and supporting members ll, l2, l3 and M are preferably all alike, and

as shown, each consists of a member U-shaped in transverse cross-section, with the inner surface of the base of the section adapted to be placed in engagement with the inside wider face of the ladder rail. The base of the section has a U-shaped notch 25 which extends from the lower edge to about the center of the base in the central portion thereof and is adapted to receive a rung of the ladder with which the offset bracket is used. Between the inner end of the notch and the upper edge of the base, the members are apertured to receive a bolt 26 to secure pivotally one end of an arm l5, l6, H or [8. The point of providing the aperture in any of the rail engaging members for receiving the bolt 26 may be varied as desired. Usually each aperture is positioned at a point as shown in lower member l3 in Fig. 1, and as so positioned away from an axis passing vertically through the length of slot 25, the rail engaging member will place the rail under torsion and cause the member to bind against the rail, thereby causing the load on the bracket to be divided between the rail and the rung with most of the load being on the rail.

The extensible and contractable arms l9 and 20 each comprises two bars 21 and 28 welded at their outer ends to the arms l5 and I6 or I! and I 8, with means for securing the bars against relative movement with respect to each other, particularly when in extended position with the rail engaging and supporting members in contact with the ladder rails. The means shown comprises a bracket 29 which is U-shaped in transverse cross-section, the legs of which are welded to the bar 21 and are of sufficient length to permit the bar 28 to slide through the bracket inside of the bar 21 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and a thumb screw 30 threaded into the base of the bracket so as to engage the bar 28 and force it into frictional engagement with the bar 2'1.

In use for any purpose for which it is intended, the oifset bracket is mounted on a ladder 3| by loosening the thumb screws 30, moving the rail engaging and supporting members I l and I2, and I3 and I4 toward each other sufficiently to permit the members to clear the rails 32 and 33 of the ladder on the inside, moving the members outwardly into engagement with the rails as shown in Fig. 1, and then downwardly on the rails until the rungs 34 of the ladder are within the notches 25 of the members, after which the thumb screws 30 are tightened and the offset bracket is mounted on the ladder.

To offset the ladder against a wall 35 or against a sloping or flat roof, the bracket is placed on the upper part of the ladder in the position occupied by the upper bracket in Fig. l. The upper end of the ladder is then moved toward the wall or roof until the outer face of the bearing plate I is in contact with the wall or roof. It will be understood that when supported from a roof, the ladder and the bracket, excepting for the bearing plate ID, will be spaced from the lower edge of the roof and the gutter so that the gutter will not be damaged.

The bracket is so designed and the several parts thereof are so proportioned that when the bracket is mounted on a ladder and the swivel bearing plate I U is in contact with a wall or a roof, regardless of the slope of the roof, if the arms l and 16 are disposed in a horizontal position, the ladder will be placed at the correct pitch for safe and effective work. As shown in Fig. 2, ladder planks 36 are placed on the upper horizontal arms I5 and It to provide a scaffold.

The bracket can be placed in various positions on a ladder depending upon the purpose to be accomplished. For example, the bracket can be mounted in the position shown by the lower bracket in Fig. 1 with the rail supporting members H and 12 on a rung which is spaced by one rung from that on which the members l3 and M are placed, rather than on adjacent rungs. The arms l5 and i6 will be used to support ladder planks usually in conjunction with another bracket placed similarly on another ladder spaced laterally from the first ladder at the same angle to the wall or roof with which it is used. In another instance, the bracket can be mounted on the lower part of the ladder in a similar position to that occupied by the upper bracket in Fig. 1, with the horizontally extending arms l5 and I6 utilized to support ladder planks such as 35. In a further instance, the bracket can be placed in an inverted position with the shorter arms l5 and I6 below the arms I! and i8 and a ladder plank can be supported on the arms l5 and 16 between those arms and arms Ill and [8, in conjunction with another bracket similarly placed on another ladder similarly positioned.

Another form of ladder rail engaging and supporting member is shown in Fig. 6. This member has a plate 31 which is placed in engagement with the inner face of the ladder rail, a central aperture 38 for a bolt to secure it pivotally to an arm I 5, IS, IT or ill, oppositely disposed rung receiving slots 39 and 40, and angular flanges 4| and 42 which extend at right angles from diagonally opposite corner portions. The part of the flange adjacent the plate 31 will engage a side of the ladder rail and the part of the flange which extends parallel to the plate will engage the outer face of the rail. There will be four of these supporting members to a bracket, two right hand members and two left hand. The members are attached to the arms [5, I6, I! and [8 so that the upper flange will take or resist the thrust of these arms. In the form of bracket illustrated, the angular flange 4| or 42 should be above the rung of the ladder and in contact with the side of the ladder rail which faces the wall 35 against which the ladder is supported. Brackets having rail engaging and supporting members of the form shown in Fig. 6 are applied to ladders in the manner previously described, excepting that (iii the member is rotated about the bolt which passes through aperture 38 until the plate 31 can be moved laterally into contact with the inner face of the ladder rail, after which it is rotated in the opposite direction until the flanges 4i and 42 are in contact with the sides of the rail as previously described.

Brackets embodying the invention are of simple construction and they are readily made and applied to ladders, as will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure. They are capable of supporting ladders against buildings for any purpose, either against a wall or from the roof, and irrespective of the slope or pitch of the roof because of the swivel bearing plate 10 which will move about its pivots until the bearing face of the plate is in contact with the roof. Thus the bracket will support a ladder from a roof so that the ladder does not come in contact with the eaves or gutters of the building, and it will perform this function with flat or horizontal roofs as well as with sloping roofs. There are no complications or mechanical adjustments necessary, simply the placing of the bracket or brackets on the ladder as previously described for the purpose intended. The correct pitch of the ladder will automatically be determined merely by placing the ladder with the shorter arms l5 and I6 horizontal. For scaffolding, the brackets may be placed either inside or outside of the ladders as previously mentioned. And when the brackets are utilized with the horizontal arms above the sloping arms as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the ladder planks may be placed directly in position without the necessity of sliding the planks endwise back and forth through supporting openmgs.

It will be understood that preferred forms of the invention have been selected for illustration and description and that changes may be made in the several parts of the bracket and in their interrelation without departing from the principles of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited excepting by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ladder bracket comprising a bearing plate, pairs of spaced arms pivotally connected at different points to the plate, a ladder rail engaging member pivotally connected to each arm at a point that when said bracket is loaded each member will bind against the ladder rail, each member being channel shaped and having a slot adapted to receive a ladder rung, and means connecting the arms of each pair adjacent the rail engaging members.

2. A ladder bracket comprising a bearing plate. pairs of spaced arms pivotally connected at different points to the plate, a ladder rail engaging member pivotally connected to each arm, each member being channel shaped for engagement with one face and two sides of a ladder rail and having a slot adapted to receive a ladder rung. the point of engagement of said ladder rail engaging member with each arm being outside of an axis passing vertically through the longer axis of each slot, an extensible and contractable arm connecting the arms of each pair, and means for fixing the extensible arms in extended position.

3. A ladder bracket comprising a bearing plate, pairs of spaced arms pivotally connected at different points to the plate, a ladder rail engaging member pivotally connected to the other end of each arm, each member comprising a plate for engagement with a face of a ladder rail and having diagonally opposed angular flanges for engagement with the sides and the opposite face of the ladder rail, the plate having opposed slots for receiving a ladder rung, an extensible and contractable arm connecting the arms of each pair, and means for fixing the extensible arms in extended position.

4. A ladder bracket comprising a bearing plate, attaching means carried by said plate at different points, a pair of arms pivoted to each of said attaching means, a ladder engaging member pivoted on the free end of each arm, each of said members being slotted to engage the rungs of the ladder and being shaped to also engage the edges of the rails of the ladder, the point of pivoting said member on the end of each arm being such that when a load is placed on said bracket the load will be taken up mostly bysaid rail by binding against the same and partly by the engaged rung.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 472,406 Smith Apr. 5, 1892 524,270 Wimbush Aug. 7, 1894 530,374 Wilkins Dec. 4, 1894 662,566 Jones Nov. 2'7, 1900 783,259 Friend Feb. 21, 1905 1,004,284 Lehmann Sept. 26, 1911 1,502,490 -Tack July 22, 1924 1,684,269 Hebner Sept. 11, 1928 2,541,343 Dakin Feb. 13, 1951 

